Up in Flames
by Sonya Rivers
Summary: My name is Heather O'Reilly. Everything was fine until Ireland, my home, banned superheroes, effectively sentencing me to the US to stay with my cousin and fellow superhero, Tony Rydinger. And that's when I met Dash. DashxOC, VioletxTony
1. Hell Begins

_Author's Note:__ This is what happens when your Spanish teacher decides to show "The Incredibles" in Spanish during class. Of course, spending three hours stuck in an airplane waiting for the pilot to get the all clear to take off probably didn't help much either. XD  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Incredibles.  
Claimer: I own Heather O'Reilly, the plot, and Tony's alter ego.  
Welcome to My Side of the River  
Sonya_

_****_

Heather's POV

I glared murderously at the building in front of me. I did NOT want to be here. Then again, it wouldn't do me any good to blame my situation on the school. It's not the school's fault that the Irish government decided to be complete idiots and ban superheroes, effectively sentencing me to the USA.

Yeah, you read that right. I am one of a very rare kind, born with powers far beyond any human's capabilities. Through some genetic anomaly, I am your average student by day, butt-kicking superhero by night.

My entire family isn't superheroes though. Only me and my three cousins have powers, in fact, each of us has total control over one of the four elements. I have fire, Miranda has water, David has air, and Tony has earth.

Speaking of Tony, I had to find him, considering that I had no clue where I was going, and this was his school. I looked at my ring, a simple silver band with four stones on it: One was green, one was blue, one was white, and the last was gold. I pushed the green stone, which began to flash, signifying that Tony was receiving my location. Each of us has one of these rings, with the stones signifying the other people. The green button was Tony's, on his ring, in place of a green stone, he had a red one, which should be flashing right about now. The blue stone was Miranda's, the white was David's, and the gold was for the general public requiring help.

As expected, Tony ran over to me. "Heather!" He grabbed me in a bear hug. "Irish laws?" He asked quietly, immediately knowing why I was here."

"Irish laws." I confirmed. He set me down, then turned to his friends.

"Guys, this is my cousin Heather. Heather, these are my friends." They said hi briefly. Then Tony turned to me. "Want me to show you to your first class?"

"Please." I said, and we walked into the school.

"Listen." He said as we walked, appearing to be a normal teenager catching up with his cousin. "There's a group of heroes already here. There's Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Frozone, Invisigirl, The Dash, and Metamorph. I'll fill you in on their details later. I don't know who they are exactly, but I think Invisigirl and The Dash go to this school. Invisigirl looks like she'd be in my grade, and The Dash looks like he's in yours. Try to figure out who they are. We could help them."

"Got it." Tony stopped in front of a door, one I assumed to be my homeroom. I opened it.

A woman was standing at the front of the class, presumably my teacher. She stopped, and everyone turned towards me.

"Mrs. Gallagher, this is Heather O'Reilly, my cousin." Tony said. He turned to me. "I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

"All right. See ya." Tony disappeared, already walking towards his first period class.

The teacher, Mrs. Gallagher, said "Heather, could you please introduce yourself to the class?"

I sighed. The teacher meant well, but she didn't know that I hated to stand in front of a group of people and speak. It wasn't like when I was Inferno, where everyone hung onto my every word. I was just Heather, ordinary girl extraordinaire.

"My name is Heather. As you heard, Tony Rydinger is my cousin. I'm 15, and I just moved here from Dublin."

"Dublin, Ireland?" Asked Mrs. Gallagher, surprised.

I sighed again. "Dublin, Ireland."

Murmurs immediately broke out around the classroom at my confirmation of Mrs. Gallagher's assumption. Getting along with my classmates was going to be hard enough without being treated like a freak because I lived in Ireland.

One boy stood up, and I immediately pegged him as the bully of the group. "Ireland, eh?" He said in a bad imitation of an Irish accent. "As in, Leprechauns and a pot of gold under the rainbow?" The class began to laugh at my expense.

"America, eh?" I did the best stereotypical stupid-American accent I could. "As in stupid lazy people with absolutely no manners?" What can I say? My element also controlled my explosive temper.

The class ooooh'd and some wise guy yelled "BURN!" I could tell that he was about to reply with something really nasty when a boy in the back stopped him.

"Bobby, knock it off." I looked at my savior. He was tall, about 6', easily dwarfing me. He had blond hair, which he kept somewhat messy, and an athletic build, like someone who ran track. Add a pair of chocolate-brown eyes, and I could see why the girls immediately shut up and went into fangirl mode.

"OMG, Dash is here!"

"I didn't know Dash was in this class!"

"Marry me, Dash!"

Pathetic. Judging by the boy, Dash's, expression, he was in complete agreement. He ignored them, however, and concentrated on Bobby.

"But she…!" Bobby protested.

"And you deserved it. Now leave her alone." I subtly raised an eyebrow. Dash had an air of authority about him that made people listen. The kind that usually comes with being a superhero.

_Note to self: Discuss this with Tony later._

"Quiet down!" Mrs. Gallagher ordered belatedly as the whispers started up again. "Heather, take a seat next to Dash in the back."

I walked over to where Dash sat in the back corner. One fangirl stuck her foot out in the aisle, however, I simply stepped over it, and took my seat next to Dash.

_****_

Dash's POV:

There are days when I really hate this school. Take right now for instance. I'm sitting in the back, trying to avoid drawing attention to myself. Why? One word: Fangirls.

Luckily, Mrs. Gallagher called the class to order. "Settle down, class." She instructed, and the fangirls returned to their respective seats, to my relief.

Just as Mrs. Gallagher was about to begin, however, the door opened. Tony Rydinger stepped in with a girl, one I'd never seen before.

Believe me, I would've remembered her. She wasn't tall, but at about 5'6", she wasn't short either. Bright flame-red hair gently waved down to her waist, while side swept bangs accented vivid emerald eyes. Pale skin and a lithe figure firmly cemented her as one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen.

My thoughts were interrupted by Tony speaking. "Mrs. Gallagher, this is Heather O'Reilly, my cousin." Mystery girl, Heather, was Tony's cousin? "I'll see you at lunch, ok?" This was addressed to Heather.

"All right. See ya." Heather spoke with a distinct accent, although I couldn't quite place it. Tony immediately left.

Mrs. Gallagher spoke. "Heather, could you please introduce yourself to the class?"

I saw her shudder slightly, but only slightly, before she spoke. "My name is Heather. As you heard, Tony Rydinger is my cousin. I'm 15, and I just moved here from Dublin."

"Dublin, Ireland?" Mrs. Gallagher 's question voiced my own thoughts.

She sighed. "Dublin, Ireland." She confirmed.

I ignored the conversations that rapidly broke out between the other students. Heather was Irish? Why'd she move here?

I saw Bobby stand up, and I almost groaned. Why he felt the need to pick on others is beyond me, but to him, Heather was an easy target.

He spoke in an obviously mocking fake accent. "Irish, eh? As in Leprechauns and pots of gold under the rainbow?" I clenched my fist as the class began to laugh. Why was I feeling so protective of a girl I didn't even know?

"America, eh?" She fired back. "As in stupid lazy people with absolutely no manners?" Or maybe not so easy a target. I hid a smirk as I witnessed Bobby's shocked expression at her jibe. Heather was a lot feistier than she first appeared.

I could see him gearing up for a derogatory comeback, so I decided to intervene. "Bobby, knock it off." I said, standing up. Heather looked at me, and I could see her sizing me up with an efficiency only superheroes use.

_Note to self: Talk to Vi about this later._

Unfortunately, this only brought my presence to the attention of the fangirls.

"OMG, Dash is here!"

"I didn't know Dash was in this class!"

"Marry me, Dash!"

One look at Heather's face told me everything about her opinion of my fangirls, and I couldn't help but agree with it.

"But she…!" Bobby protested, drawing my attention back to him.

"And you deserved it. Now leave her alone." I used my commanding voice, the one I used as The Dash, and Bobby immediately obeyed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that this did not escape Heather's notice.

"Quiet down!" Mrs. Gallagher snapped. "Heather, take a seat next to Dash in the back." I cheered inwardly at my luck.

As Heather took a seat next to me, I ripped a sheet of paper out of my notebook and began to write on it. _Sorry about Bobby. He has a habit of picking on pretty girls. Anyways, I'm Dash Parr. Is Tony really your cousin?_ I folded the paper and slipped it onto her desk.

Heather slid the paper into her open notebook and unfolded it. She blushed, presumably at my compliment, and, taking out a pencil, replied. She re-folded the paper and put it on my desk.

I opened it. Well, Dash, thanks for helping me with Bobby earlier. As you heard, I'm Heather. Yes, Tony's my cousin. Why do you ask?

I grinned, scrawling a reply. _No problem. And my older sister's had a crush on him since forever._

She smiled. Would your older sister be Violet Parr, by any chance?

I blinked. _Yeah. How'd you know?_

Tony never shuts up about her.

I smirked. _You thinking what I'm thinking?_

Duh. Set them up! Tell you what, why don't you invite Violet to sit with me at lunch, as a "Let's get to know the new girl" thing.

I saw immediately where she was going with this. _And since Tony's going to be sitting with you at lunch…_

Exactly. You game?

_I'm game. What class do you have next?_

Art with Jennings.

I barely suppressed a grin. _Cool. You're with me. Mind if I walk you?_

Not at all. The bell rang then, interrupting my next response.

And that was how I became friends with Heather O'Reilly.


	2. Meeting Violet

_Author's Note:__ Whoa. I was definitely not expecting the response I got._

_Thank you, everyone who reviewed! I'm SO SORRY I didn't have this up sooner, but I had a killer case of writer's block. XD _

_Also, I hate to disappoint people, but I'm not one of those authors who update regularly. I update when I get the inspiration to write. Luckily, dry spells like last month don't happen frequently._

_So then, ONWARD!_

_Welcome to My Side of the River,_

_Sonya_

_****_

Heather's POV

Art with Dash went by quickly. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed so hard. It would be kind of irritating to deal with the fangirls later though, who, judging by the glares I was receiving the entire period, were NOT happy about that I was spending so much time with Dash.

As we drew, Dash asked to see my schedule. I handed it over. He examined it for a minute, then let out a low whistle.

"You're quite the smarty-pants, aren't you?" I stuck my tongue out at him childishly, and he laughed.

"You have Spanish with Violet. I'll walk you there. Vi can show you how to get to Gym, since it's on her way to Psychology. I don't know how you'll get to Trig, English, or lunch, but I think I can get you to Chem, and Songwriting's just down the hall from Chem." He mused.

"Tony said he could get me to Trig and English." I replied. "And lunch is just outside the Gym, isn't it?"

"Yup." Dash said. "So you should be good."

The teacher, Mr. Jennings, told us to clean up then. I looked at what I had drawn haphazardly, and internally cursed.

A giant black X divided my paper into four sections. In the top triangle, I'd drawn a dolphin jumping through waves. A wave insignia was in the vertex of the triangle directly above the X's intersection.

In the right section, I'd drawn a fox padding through flames. A flame insignia that was all-too-familiar to me lay in the intersection's corner.

On the bottom, I'd drawn an eagle flying, while a storm built up around it. A hurricane insignia was displayed in its respective intersection corner.

The left was filled with a stag striding through a forest. A rock was its insignia.

I'd unthinkingly drawn the elements me and my cousins represented. The top was Miranda Whittinger, my cousin currently residing in France. She controlled water. The insignia in the corner was the one displayed on Tsunami (her alter ego)'s uniform. The right was me. Fire was my element, and the flame was my symbol when I was Inferno. The left was Tony. He commanded earth, and the rock was Earthquake's signature. My cousin David Rodriguez, who lived in Mexico, was the bottom section. Wind was his element, and when he was Huracán (Spanish for Hurricane), the wind was his symbol.

I tried to slip it into my backpack without Dash noticing, but he took the paper out of my hands before I could blink. "Whoa, I didn't know you could draw too." He said, amazed.

I forced a smile. "Yup." I took the paper back from him, and my smile became much more natural, and less pained. "You saw mine, so let me see yours." I ordered.

"Er…."He stalled. I gave him my best Don't-even-think-about-refusing look, and he handed it over without further objection.

A tropical island had been sketched with incredible detail on the paper, surrounded by crystalline waters. A volcano interrupted the stretch of lush vegetation covering the island, and though I don't know how, I could tell it was about to erupt. He'd perfectly captured the eerie calm before the storm.

I handed it back. "This is amazing." I informed him, and he flushed slightly.

Dash opened his mouth to reply, but the bell rang then. He grabbed both our backpacks off the floor. I was about to object, but he shook his head silently. I swallowed my objection, and let him lead me through the crowded hallways.

We got a lot of stares as we walked to Spanish. I tried to pass it off as simple new-girl curiosity, and in a small town like this, there probably weren't many new students. However, I got the feeling that wasn't quite it, considering that a lot of the stares were directed at Dash. Was this normal for him?

He stopped in front of a door I assumed was my Spanish class. He grabbed the handle, and opened the door. I expected him to simply walk through, but he stepped aside, gesturing for me to go first.

So Dash Parr was a gentleman. I thanked him, and stepped through the doorway.

It was easy to tell who Violet was. Although she had long raven-black hair and nearly-black eyes, she had the same facial structure as Dash. On Dash, the effect was masculine, but not overly. On Violet, it was distinctly feminine. Paired with a taller, slim figure, and I immediately understood why Tony was attracted to her.

Currently, her expression was one of shock, with raised eyebrows and a slightly dropped jaw. The stares we had gotten in the hallway suddenly made sense: carrying a girl's books and holding doors open for her was NOT normal behavior for Dash. So why'd he do it?

"Mr. Parr, you're not in my class." The teacher, an imposing-looking man, interrupted my thinking.

"I was showing Heather where to go." He replied.

The teacher turned to me, and I disliked him instantly. I knew that look. It was the I-am-superior-to-you look. I knew he expected me to cower under his gaze as most students would. I had played this game enough to know that most of his students probably did shrink under his degrading scrutiny. I, however, reacted in the way he least expected: I stood taller, and leveled him with a glare of my own.

He was momentarily surprised, but only for a moment. "I don't teach sophomores." He told me arrogantly. I almost laughed at his pathetic attempt at regaining dominance over me.

I didn't acknowledge his snide comment with a response. Instead, I simply handed him my schedule. He cockily examined it, expecting to see an alternate course and teacher printed in my third period block. He paled as he realized that he really _was _teaching a sophomore. Evidently, sophomores weren't usually placed in Spanish VI AP.

"Since I have alphabetically organized seating, you will sit next to Miss Parr. Miss Parr, raise your hand." Violet raised her hand. I reclaimed my backpack from Dash, saying goodbye to him as I did so. He left for his next class, and I took my seat next to Violet.

"Miss O'Reilly, introduce yourself to the class." I was about to speak, he cut me off. "In Spanish."

_****_

Violet's POV

I don't know what I expected today. But seeing Dash walk into my Spanish class with a girl, carrying her backpack and holding the door open for her, certainly wasn't it.

I could feel my jaw beginning to drop in shock. Since when did my brother escort a girl to class? And why she look vaguely familiar, even though I was sure I'd never seen her before in my life.

She looked at me, and recognition flared in her eyes. Dash must have told her about me.

"Mr. Parr, you're not in my class." Mr. Cortes stated arrogantly.

"I was showing Heather where to go." Dash replied, gesturing to the girl next to him. I could see an obvious softening in Dash's expression when he looked at her. Looks like my younger brother has a crush.

Mr. Cortes turned towards Heather. He immediately fixed her with his infamous 'withering-violet' glare (pun unintended).

Her response shocked me. Instead of shrinking under his gaze as most students did, she stood taller, calmly leveling a glare of her own at him. Hers, however, sent a different message than his. Instead of 'I-am-superior-to-you', her gaze said 'no-you're-not-and-we-both-know-it'.

I gave Dash a 'did she just do that' look. He nodded. This girl was either the bravest person I'd ever known, or the craziest.

Eventually, the stare-off ended, surprisingly with Mr. Cortes' change of tactics. "I don't teach sophomores." He informed her. Heather simply handed him her schedule, and I saw his face drop as he realized he _was_ teaching sophomores. At the very least, he was teaching this one.

"Since I have alphabetically organized seating, you will sit next to Miss Parr. Miss Parr, raise your hand." I did so, and Heather, taking her backpack from Dash, sat in the seat to my left. Dash exited the room to head to his next class.

"Miss O'Reilly, introduce yourself to the class. In Spanish." I mentally rolled my eyes at the pettiness of this move. Clearly, he expected the suddenness of this to trip her up.

She didn't even pause. "Me llamo Heather O'Reilly. Tengo quince años. Soy de Dublin, Irlanda. Mi primo es Tony Rydinger. Me gusta leer y dibujar."* I nearly choked when she said Tony's name. Dash's crush was the cousin of Tony, who I'd liked for years. The irony was killing me. At the very least, it explained why she looked so familiar.

Mr. Cortes, as well as the rest of the class, stared at her, shocked. She'd spoken in a flawless accent, though no one could quite place it. It sounded familiar though….

"Mexican?" I didn't realize I had spoken out loud until everyone turned to look at me. I did my best not to recoil under their gazes.

"Yes, actually." Heather answered, slightly surprised. "How did you know?"

I couldn't exactly say it was because I worked with Huracán, a Mexican superhero, before, and he'd spoken with the same accent as she did. So I revised it. "I listen to the news in Spanish, and heard Huracán give a news broadcast last week. He spoke with the same accent you did."

Technically, I wasn't lying. I did listen to the news in Spanish, and I did hear Huracán give the broadcast. I just neglected to mention that I'd been there as Invisigirl as he did it.

I heard one of the popular kids mutter "Nerd" under her breath. Evidently, Heather heard it too, because she turned towards the girl.

"And?" She challenged. The girl looked down, unable to form a response.

"Anyways." Heather continued. "You're right, Violet. I have a cousin living in Mexico. He taught me Spanish."

"Good." Mr. Cortes interrupted. "I also hope he taught you about Tenochtitlan, because that's what we're studying. Take yout your textbooks, and answer the questions on page 46. Work with the person sitting next to you."

Heather smiled at me. "You must be Violet. I'm Heather O'Reilly. Nice to meet you."

"You too." I said. "Did your cousin teach you about Tenochtitlan?"

She grinned evilly. "David taught me _everything_ about Tenochtitlan. He's in college, studying archaeology. And since he lives in Mexico City…"

I immediately connected the dots. "Since he lives directly over the ruins of Tenochtitlan, that's what he's studying."

"Exactly." We proceeded to answer all of the questions, and finished with plenty of time to spare.

"We'd better keep talking." I informed her. "Otherwise Mr. Cortes will think we're slacking."

"Jerk." She mumbled, and I couldn't help but agree with her.

"How'd you meet my brother?" I asked her.

"He's in my Homeroom/History class." She replied.

"Yeah, but he usually doesn't talk to people until he establishes they're not a fangirl." We both rolled our eyes in sync.

"I don't really know why he started talking to me." She admitted. "Or why he stood up for me, for that matter."

"He what?"

"Some idiot decided it would be funny to mock my Irish heritage. Dash told him to stop." Heather elaborated.

One look at my face told her all she needed to know. "He doesn't usually do this, does he?"

"No." I said. "Definitely not. He must really like you." She blushed. "You like him, don't you?"

"No, no." She insisted. "I just met him."

"And yet you've got him walking you to class and holding doors open for you." I pointed out.

She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Violet, do you think that you could tell me where the Gym is?"

"I'll walk you there." I promised. The bell rang, effectively cutting off any chance to interrogate her further.

It would certainly be interesting to see how this panned out.

_****_

(TRANSLATION FOR ALL WHO DON'T SPEAK SPANISH)

* My name is Heather O'Reilly. I am 15 years old. I'm from Dublin, Ireland. My cousin is Tony Rydinger. I like to read and draw.


	3. Lunch

_Author's Note: Wow! I truly wasn't expecting the response I got for the last chapter. Thank you, everyone who reviewed!_

_Now, ONWARD!_

_Welcome to My Side of the River,_

_Sonya_

_****_

Heather's POV

As expected, Gym bored me out of my skull. Gym class as a whole was incredibly boring; because of the way I had to tone down everything I did in order to avoid drawing attention to myself. To make it even worse, the only faces I recognized were those of Dash's fangirls. It passed without incident, though I could tell they were _dying_ to say something nasty to me.

Tony was waiting outside the gym when the bell rang. "I met Dash and Violet." I said, low enough for no one to hear me.

He blushed when I mentioned Violet's name, but otherwise said nothing. I continued. "Dash is in my Homeroom, History, and Art with me. Violet's with me in Spanish." I dropped my voice even lower. "She's familiar with the broadcast in Mexico City with Huracán and the Incredibles, and was able to tell that I had a Mexican accent because she linked Huracán's accent to mine. Dash stopped a kid from making fun of me in Homeroom. He had this aura of assertion… I've never seen anything like it." _… in a normal person._ I added silently, and he picked up on my unspoken message.

"Interesting…" He murmured.

"I invited Dash to sit with us at lunch." I informed him, carefully omitting the part about Violet joining us, and he nodded his approval.

We walked into Math class. Mrs. Potts, the teacher, smiled at me, and told me to sit net to Tony (alphabetical seating at its finest). Quietly, he took out a sheet of paper, and began to write. However, since these notes being intercepted would mean doomsday for us, he wrote not in English, but in Gaelic.

_Do you think Violet and Dash are heroes too?_

I think it's definitely possible. Can you tell me more about the local heroes?

He gave me the basics. _Mr. Incredible – super strength. Elastigirl – extreme flexibility/ can stretch her body up to 100 feet past normal length. Frozone – can freeze things (not part of the Incredibles family) Invisigirl – Invisibility, force fields. The Dash – super speed. Metamorph – can change forms at will._

Got it.

His expression turned mischievous. _So… you like Dash?_

I rolled my eyes. Violet thought the same thing. No, I do not like him! I just met him!

_You could ask him out… get to know him better. _

Tell you what. I'll ask him out when you ask Violet out.

That quickly wiped the smug grin off his face. _Touché._

"All right, class." Called Mrs. Potts. "Today, we'll start by reviewing some of the material from last year…"

_****_

I smiled when we were dismissed for lunch. Tony and I walked out, talking and laughing. We exited the double doors in front of the school, and Tony lead me over to a tree, under which we were mostly hidden from public view.

When Dash and Violet joined us, I couldn't help the wide grin that spread across my face. As soon as I saw Violet and Tony's expressions at seeing the other, that grin turned into a pronounced smirk.

"Hey, Dash, Violet." Tony greeted them while I smiled my greeting.

"Hey, Heather… Tony." It took a lot of willpower to not laugh at the blush rapidly spreading across Violet and Tony's faces. Could they make it any more obvious that they liked each other?

They spun towards me and Dash, quickly coming to the same conclusion simultaneously: that this wasn't a coincidence. With a considerable amount of effort, I wiped my smug grin off my face, replacing it with a wide-eyed look of innocence.

"It's not going to be a problem, is it?" I asked innocently. "I mean, if you really don't want to sit with me…"

"I'll stay." They announced in unison. Tony eyed me suspiciously at my far too-angelic tone. He definitely knew that I was faking it. I nearly laughed again at their discomfort at sitting next to each other, and saw out of the corner of my eye that Dash was struggling not to do the same.

This was going to be good.

Violet's POV

I walked into study hall, taking my seat next to Dash. "Hey." He said. "How's the Conquistador?"

"Same as usual." The Conquistador was a running joke between me and Dash about Mr. Cortes. Considering his name and sunny personality (insert lethal dose of sarcasm here), we both agreed that the name fit.

"He tried to put Heather down today." I informed him, and I saw him go rigid.

"How?" He asked, carefully controlling his tone.

"He made her introduce herself to the class… in Spanish." I smiled at the memory. Dash gave me a quizzical look, and I elaborated. "She didn't even pause. The girl's completely fluent." Dash grinned.

"Something interesting, though, is her accent." I dropped my voice down so no one else could hear our conversation. "I recognized it. Remember Huracán?" He nodded. "It sounded exactly like his." Dash raised an eyebrow.

"It gets better." I continued. "She apparently has a cousin in Mexico City, David I think, who's a student studying archaeology. He taught her Spanish."

Dash caught what I was getting at. "You think he's…." I nodded.

"There's more. Mr. Cortes fixed her with the 'withering-violet' glare." He grimaced.

"Dash, she stood taller, got into a stare-down with him, and won." His jaw dropped.

"Daaaaang. So she's bilingual with a nerve of steel?"

I remembered something. "Not quite. She's Irish, remember? She probably speaks Gaelic."

"Trilingual, then." He said. "And she can draw."

I suddenly recalled what we needed to talk about. "Dash, you're familiar with what's going on in Ireland right now, right?"

Dash knew what I was getting at. He snorted. "Idiots. Their firemen are going to have one hell of a time doing their jobs without Inferno's help."

"Do you think she'll pull a Dad?" He knew I was referring to when Dad was forced into hiding. He didn't stop being a hero, he just stopped doing it when the public knew it was him.

Dash considered it. "No, I don't think so. The Irish government's banning of heroes isn't quite like the US's was. While the US just wanted the heroes to stop saving people, Ireland sounds like they don't even want heroes living in the country. Since Inferno looks like she's about my age, it would be easy for the government to find her and kick her out."

I shook my head. "Idiots." I smirked as I remembered the topic I knew Dash was trying to keep me away from. "So… when did you start walking girls to class?"

Dash blushed. "Shut up." He mumbled.

"You like her, don't you?" I accused, still smiling.

He shook his head. "No! I just met her this morning!"

"But…" I prompted.

"But I will admit she's cute." He turned even redder.

The bell rang. As I gathered my stuff, Dash seemed to remember something. "Hey, Violet, do you want to sit with me and Heather at lunch?"

"Sure." I said.

We strode outside, Dash leading me towards the old willow tree. Underneath sat Heather…

And Tony.

I internally cursed Dash. The little twerp had definitely planned this!

"Hey, Dash, Violet." Was it just me, or did Tony just light up when he said my name? 

I shook my head. It had to be me. "Hey, Heather… Tony." I blushed when I said his name.

A muffled snicker from Heather's general direction informed me that Dash wasn't the only one in on the plan, and evidently, Tony realized this also. We spun towards Heather, who wore an all-too-innocent expression on her face.

"It's not going to be a problem, is it?" She asked us sweetly. Too sweetly. "I mean, if you really don't want to sit with me…"

I knew she was manipulating us. Judging by Tony's narrowed eyes, he knew it also, but we both blurted out at the exact same time "I'll stay."

Dash took a seat next to Heather, and I realized that this left me between Dash and Tony. I could tell Dash and Heather were struggling not to laugh, but I ignored them, sitting down.

We sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Dash spoke up. "Hey, Heather, are you trilingual?"

Heather turned red. "Erm… not quite." She replied.

I was confused, and Dash was also. She saw this, and elaborated.

"I'm actually quadrilingual." She admitted sheepishly. "Our cousin Miranda," She gestured towards Tony "taught us French also."

A sudden thought occurred to me. "Does this mean you're quadrilingual too?" I asked Tony. He nodded in confirmation.

"We taught our other cousins our respective languages." Tony explained, his eyes locked on mine.

"Well, sort of." Heather cut in.

"Sort of." He amended. "Heather and David already spoke English. I just helped them with their accent."

"That's really cool." Dash said, smiling at Heather. She smiled back, and I nearly rolled my eyes at their rather obvious mutual like.

"Heather says she doesn't like Dash. She claims it's 'too soon'." Tony made air-quotes with his fingers. "For some strange reason, I don't believe her."

"Dash said the same thing about Heather." I confided. "But I did get him to admit that he thinks Heather's 'cute'." I added my own air-quotes to my statement.

Dash looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole, while Heather's coloring vaguely resembled that of a fire truck. Tony, however, only raised one eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" He asked. I nodded in confirmation. "Seeing as Heather doesn't have any siblings, and her parents are only here temporarily, I may have to take on the duty of threatening your brother with death and dismemberment if he ever breaks Heather's heart."

Dash paled slightly at Tony's deadly serious tone. "Aren't you only supposed to do that when I ask Heather out?" He immediately realized his grave mistake when Tony and I started laughing. "If! I meant if!"

"Sure you did." I chuckled, while Heather impossibly blushed a brighter shade of red.

This lasted for a while, until Tony and I could get our laughing under control. Suddenly, Dash seemed to pale even further as he realized something. "Wait, your parents are only here temporarily? Does this mean you'll have to go back to Ireland?"

Heather and Tony exchanged a look I recognized instantly. It was the 'we-said-too-much' look. I hid my frown. What were they hiding that would cause them to use that particular look of pure guilt?

"No." Heather said cautiously. "They're only here to see that I get settled in all right. Their jobs won't let them move here."

Dash must have been thinking along the same lines as I was, because his next words voiced my thoughts on the subject. "Why did you move here, then, if your parents are still living in Dublin?"

"It's a long story." Heather replied, her face an emotionless mask. It was clear that this line of questioning made her very, very uncomfortable.

The bell rang then, saving Heather from Dash's rapid-fire questions. Dash picked up her bag, and he and Heather said goodbye to us, leaving me to walk with Tony. We walked in silence until I reached my classroom. Tony held the door open for me, and I stepped through.

"Violet." He called, and I turned back to him. I could feel the stares of my History class boring into my back, but I ignored them, concentrating instead on Tony. "Same time tomorrow?" He asked.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "Sure." I replied, and I saw my grin echoed on his face.

"Cool. See you tomorrow." He told me.

"See ya." And he was gone.

I could hear the whispers of my classmates at my recent development, but I ignored them, focusing on the warm, happy feelings flowing through my body right now.

I, Violet Parr, had talked to Tony Rydinger. Not only that, he was looking forward to seeing me (ME!) tomorrow at lunch.

That same silly grin stayed on my face for the rest of the day.


	4. Heroics

_Author's Note: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. Writer's block is evil. I should be updating somewhat regularly now, though. I know this one's short, and the next one's going to be about as long as this, but after that, it's going to get longer, I promise._

_Welcome to My Side of the River,_

_Sonya_

_****_

Heather's POV

A week had passed since I first met Dash. We had fallen into a routine by now: Dash and I would talk during Homeroom and Art (passing notes during History). He'd walk me to Spanish, where I would talk to Violet. She'd walk me to Gym, and Tony would get me to Math and Lunch. We'd all be together at lunch, then Dash walked me to Chem. Tony would meet up with me at the end of the day, and we all went home.

The more I talked to Dash, the more I liked him. I'll still deny liking him to Tony and Violet, but if I'm completely honest with myself, I'll admit that I have a teensy crush on the blond boy.

Back to the present. Mom and Dad were headed to the airport to go back to Dublin. I was wrapped up in my Mother's embrace. "Bye, Mom." I whispered, choking back tears.

"We'll always leave the fire burning, sweetie." Mom replied.

I smiled at my mom's reference to my alter ego. As Inferno, one of my abilities was teleportation. As long as there was a burning flame, I could appear in it, no matter where it was. Tony could do the same with earth, Miranda could with water, and David with air.

I was released from my mom's hug, only to be swept up by my dad. "Bye, Dad. Take care of Cavan for me." Cavan is my stunningly beautiful chestnut horse. He's my only pet, and I love him to death.

"We'll try to see if we can get Cavan boarded here." Dad said. "In ways the government can track, so you don't have to explain how a random horse showed up in their country." I laughed at my Dad's way of saying goodbye. He pulled back as we heard the sound of the taxi's horn outside. Mom and Dad picked up their suitcases, and walked out, entering the cab. As it pulled away, I stood on the doorstep, waving until I could no longer see the taxi.

I walked inside with a heavy heart. Tony saw this, and hugged me. "It's okay." He whispered.

"Thanks." I said, "I needed that."

The news program on the TV changed to a recent news story. "Breaking news!" The reporter announced. "An unidentified robot has appeared in Center City. It bears a strong resemblance to the one Syndrome used to try to take over the city." Tony and I exchanged glances, then broke apart. I took a quick glance at the screen, and seeing flames, I ran outside, Tony fast on my heels.

I let the flames erupt around me, and I could feel the fire changing me, until I was no longer Heather O'Reilly.

I was Inferno.

Using the fire, I teleported to Center City, while Tony, as Earthquake, followed through the ground. We appeared to find the Incredibles fighting the robot.

They were doing what they could, but I could see that they needed help. Tony roped down the robot's feet using vines. It would only hold for a second, but a second was all I needed. I shot flames into the joint between a leg and the center of the robot, getting the fire inside. It denatured the joint, leaving the robot stumbling around on three legs. The Incredibles seemed surprised at Tony and my sudden appearance, but they didn't let it distract them, continuing to pummel the bot.

I could see that I wasn't going to get anywhere where I was. "I need a lift!" I yelled to Mr. Incredible. He understood, throwing me towards it. I landed where I needed to, directly on top of the bot. I placed my hands on its "eyes", melting them until it could no longer see. Then, I erupted into flames, concentrating on channeling them towards the bot. I could feel its pressure rising, and I stayed on as long as I could before I was forced to jump off.

_3… 2… 1…_

BOOM!

I landed gracefully among the debris of the exploded robot. I stood, Tony appearing by my side. The Incredibles stood in front of us.

"Thank you, Earthquake." Mr. Incredible said, acknowledging Tony. "And…"

"Inferno." I supplied.

"Well, Inferno, I'm Mr. Incredible. This is Mrs. Incredible." He pointed towards a tall woman standing next to him. "Invisigirl," A girl with long black hair. "The Dash," A boy with short blond hair "And Metamorph." A small kid, about 5 or so, with red hair. "May I ask how long you're staying here?"

"Possibly indefinitely." I replied. "Ireland's banned my presence, so I figured I'd come here, if it's all right with you."

"Not a problem. We could use the help." Just then, the cops came out, and I tried to suppress a groan. I hate press conferences.

Dash's POV

We were eating dinner when the alarm went off. I scrambled into my uniform along with the rest of my family. Violet created her force field ball around us, and I ran us to Center City.

I felt my eyes widen slightly as I saw the robot. Syndrome was locked up! So how did one of his bots get here?

Violet dissolved the bubble, and we attacked. The first thing we did was try to hit the weaknesses we could remember from the last bot, but this one seemed to be modified in a way that neutralized these points.

We were losing. It was obvious that the robot had been made specifically to wipe us out, and nothing we were doing was working, until vines wrapped their way around the robot's legs. Earthquake had arrived. And judging by the burst of fire that warped one of the robot's joints, he wasn't alone.

A girl, dressed in an orange uniform, stood where the flames had begun. Flame-red hair hung braided down her back. A mask concealed the skin around flame-red eyes.

Inferno.

She and Earthquake joined our battle against the robot. I was mostly concentrating on my attacks, but I heard her yell to Dad. "I need a lift!" Dad immediately picked her up and threw her towards the bot.

She quickly melted the eyes, blinding it before it could register the new threat. Our attacks had ceased because we were afraid that we would hurt her and not the robot. Inferno then placed her hands on the shell of the bot, and burst into flame, forcing the fire into the bot. It began to glow from the amount of heat she was pumping into it. Inferno suddenly launched herself off of it, and just in time, because it was then the robot exploded.

She landed gracefully among the debris, and stood up. Earthquake walked over to her, facing us.

"Thank you, Earthquake." Dad said. "And…"

"Inferno." She replied, speaking with a heavy Irish accent.

"Well, Inferno, I'm Mr. Incredible. This is Mrs. Incredible, " He gestured towards Mom. "Invisigirl," Violet nodded in acknowledgement. "The Dash" I waved. "And Metamorph." Lastly, it was Jack-Jack's turn. "May I ask how long you're staying here?"

"Possibly indefinitely." She answered. "Ireland's banned my presence, so I figured I'd come here, if it's all right with you."

"Not a problem. We could use the help."

I looked at Violet, and she nodded subtly. This answered our earlier question as to where Inferno had gone. Just then, the cops showed up, closely followed by a herd of reporters, who made a beeline for Inferno.

"Inferno! Can you tell me the events of tonight?" Inferno was bombarded with plenty of other questions before she finally held her hands up in a surrender gesture. The reporters fell silent. "I arrived here, with Earthquake, to find the Incredibles already fighting the robot. Earthquake and I pitched in, and we helped bring it down." She smiled.

"When are you returning to Ireland?"

The smile became forced. "As long as that law remains in place, never."

"Does this make that you're a permanent part of the City's superhero force?"

"I hope so."

"How will Dublin manage without you to protect them?"

Now the smile was quickly wiped off her face altogether. "I don't know. I hope they'll be all right."

She endured a few more inquiries, then quietly stated. "No more questions. I need to sleep sometime soon. After all, I can't explain to my teachers that I fell asleep in their class because I was out late saving the city." A few reporters chuckled.

Inferno waved to my family and me, then burst into flame. When the fire had died down, she was gone.

I didn't know why, but for the rest of the night, I couldn't shake the sneaking feeling that I'd met Inferno before.


End file.
